The Risk of Reading a Series

Whenever I’m told that I need to read a bestselling book right this very minute I will ask if it’s part of a series.

It usually is. This is when I have to explain that I don’t read a series until it’s completed. My explanation can turn into a rant and I start sounding like Miss Ouiser Boudreaux from Steel Magnolias.

Around this point in the conversation, it’s suggested that I’m crazy.

We can’t rule that out.

But isn’t it also crazy to read a series, trilogy or duology (or it called a duet?) with no guarantee that it will be completed? And what if the books feature one main couple? What if you don’t get to see their HEA? The horror!

Yes, readers enjoy a series because you get to linger in a beloved and familiar world. But consider the risks:

Risk #1: The series is abandoned. The first book can be a masterpiece but it doesn’t find an audience. The publishers decide they don’t want to continue the series, or worse, the author gets distracted by something shiny and new.

Risk #2: There’s a long wait between books. Don’t you hate that?

Risk #3: the Happily Ever After doesn’t happen until something like book 5. Can I even consider books 1 to 4 a romance if I don’t get my HEA? And don’t give me a mini-HEA and rip it away in the last scene. Are the author and editor just trying to find more ways to torment me?

Risk #4: the hero or heroine does something STUPID and out of character so there will be another book. Ugh!

Risk #5: cliffhangers.

And this is why I will wait until the series is complete before I start reading it. Sure, I might miss out discussing it with others, but it’s very rare for everyone to read the same book at the same time and at the same pace. Also, because I waited, I get the chance to read the books back-to-back. I can binge-read, knowing that the next book is one-click away.